REVISE NEW DOMESTIC VIOLENCE LAW

The Governor's Task Force on Domestic Violence is wise to revisit the state's new domestic violence law with an eye toward revision. Some judges and prosecutors say it limits their options and removes certain protections from victims.

Criminal prosecution will take the place of contempt penalties for most violations and impose a penalty of a year in prison. But judges will lose the power to jail offenders up to six months for other violations, such as harassment, which can lead to future violence.

Under the law signed May 9 by Gov. Lawton Chiles and effective July 1, a violator could be sentenced to up to a year in jail for refusing to vacate the dwelling of a victim, returning to the dwelling, or making threats or being violent toward a spouse. But the new law does not impose misdemeanor charges on acts such as harassment, going to the victim's place of business, or approaching the victim's children, which are forerunners of violence.

Assistant Dade County State Attorney Margaret Henshold appeared before six members of the task force last week with a stack of 20 Dade County domestic violence case files. Henshold said that three-fourths of the cases involve defendants who have served jail time for contempt, but who could not be prosecuted under the new system.

Sen. Patricia Grogan, D-Merritt Island, who chaired the session, and the other task force members hearing Henshold's testimony were irritated, and understandably so, that judges and prosecutors did not make their concerns known when the changes were being debated. Judges and prosectutors should certainly be more conscientious in the future, but it is the substance of their complaints that must be the primary concern of the task force at this point.

The full 13-member task force will consider the matter at its next meeting, probably within a month, at which time it should consider restoring the contempt powers and making any violation of an injuction a crime. Or they could take a hybrid approach by retaining contempt powers while expanding the number of violations punishable by crimes.

Just so there's nothing on Florida's books that gives even the smallest edge to the perpetrators of domestic violence.